Admiration
by glassfragment
Summary: Because we admire those who inspire us to be our best. Because sometimes there's someone worth knowing for a lifetime.
1. Crossroads

Richter thinks he loves Aster.

He's not in love with Aster. Richter doesn't care so much that Aster loves him back, but that Aster's happy.

He catches himself sneaking glances at his friend and, on the occasions Aster notices and gazes back, doesn't turn away. There is something about Aster's eyes that calls out to him. Richter's not sure exactly what though.

It's not just the way the brightness compliments the warm tones of his skin or how they shine with quiet, but evident, intelligence. His eyes are unlike any other that Richter has seen. Aster's eyes are kind.

And although he scoffs at Aster's patience with others, Richter cannot help but respect his determination to see things to their end.

Aster catches Richter scrutinizing him again, and smiles back, innocently.

These days, he's taken to memorizing Aster's face, as if he may never see it again.

Richter thinks that Aster's beautiful.

Aster thinks that Richter is beautiful.

It's not just the way he carries himself with pride, or the way his glasses bring out the angles in his face, or how the color of his hair is a decidedly unrelenting red. It's something much deeper than physical appearances, as attractive though his may be.

This puzzles Aster more than his research ever will and he can figure out neither answer nor question.

And one day, after witnessing Richter hold his ground in a debate that spiralled into cutting remarks, Aster pieces the following things together.

Richter is brilliant. Aster has always known this, but never realized the full extent of his brilliance. Richter is blunt. It doesn't matter how unpleasant the truth is. He never softens the blow and calls people out whenever they shrink from his words. Most importantly, Richter is uncompromising. He holds himself to his ideals, refusing to bend to others who cannot do the same. And he never pretends to be someone he's not.

The person he presents to the world is the person he is on the inside is the person that Aster cares about. And suddenly he has both question and answer.

Aster thinks he loves Richter.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Just playing around some more with characterization, since Aster didn't have too much of it ingame. I haven't written fanfic in a long time, but these two inspire me and I hope I've done their characters justice.


	2. Omake

"-and we might be able to meet Ratatosk!" Aster grins, excited by the prospect. "If we go to the Ginnungagap, then maybe we can talk to him about the strange weather and ask for his help. Either way, we'll prove his existence to the world."

Richter only half-listens to this conversation. He'd gotten distracted when he realized that Aster was (Richter internally winces at the word) cute when he was happy. He took in Aster's glowing smile and the sheer radiance of delight he exuded.

Not that Aster was only cute when he was happy. He was cute when he frowned over his work, carefully choosing how to phrase his ideas. He was cute when, annoyed at losing his notes, he spent half the day writing up an exact copy of the old ones from memory, complete with personal illustrations. He was cute when he figured out Rilena had been borrowing them without his permission, and exasperatedly told her to keep the notes, only to discover that she had already returned them. He was cute when he was puzzling over who would have really taken them.

Even the little squirrel he drew in the margin was cute.

"Are you ok?" Aster asks, concerned, when Richter doesn't reply.

Richter responds by pushing him up against the wall and kissing him passionately.

Aster's cute when he's stunned speechless. Aster's cute when, finally realizing what's going on, he blushes and kisses him back. Aster's cute when he lets Richter trace his fingers over his cheekbones and gently brush his hair out of the 's cute when he says softly, with love, "Richter. Richter."

"Richter! Hey, Richter!"

"What?"

Oh. It didn't actually happen. Richter is both relieved and disappointed.

"You were zoning out! Did you hear anything I said?"

Unable to look at Aster, he turns away. "We're going to the Ginnungagap to prove the existence of Ratatosk. Is that it?"

People who didn't know Richter always assumed he was brusque and unsociable because of his shortness of tone and words. Aster knew that he was simply embarrassed over... something. He smiled again.

"Richter, you're funny."

A/N: One-sided Richter/Aster. In ToS2, we never really get to see how Aster thought of Richter, although it's pretty obvious Richter cared deeply for Aster. I did my best to keep the characters from derailing into seme/uke, although I may have failed. Oh well, thanks for reading ^_^


End file.
